Did they at least say "No Homo" to prove they aren't gay? Seriously, WTF makes someone say this would be funny?
Good news! That was such a terrible idea. It should simply be the team with the best record. Also shortening the minimum DL stint to 10 days from 15 is a big deal, too. Looks like they did some good work on this CBA.
Nothing wrong with that. If they end up not being able to win it all when Harper is not only in his ultra-prime years, but affordable to where they can spend big money on a bunch of other pieces... odds are they won't be able to field a "better" team when Harper is making $40million a year, starts to see his skills erode, and they can't afford to put a bunch of high priced pieces around him.
They have two years to win a World Series before it all starts crashing down. My guess that is why the Nationals are being so aggressive with McCutchen and Sale.
With the new CBA-induced penalties, will be interesting to see what the fate is of some of these ultra mega-contracts. The big market teams, while they can afford to hand these sorts of deals out, will be seeing less and less overall profits as a result of the increased tax. Additionally, the Royals and Cubs have effectively ushered in an era that you either win with an amazing farm or an amazing farm + key free agents... but tremendous homegrown talent is an absolute must. If the big market team du jour (mainly, the Yankees) has no young generational-talent in place to where a mega-priced star like Harper provides an effective supplement to... even they won't simply go out and spend just to spend (or in this case, out-spend).
As an Astros fan, I am flattered that Texas would copy MMP for their new stadium. I would still like to see MMP paint the roof orange though.
2017 HOF class: Jeff Bagwell Tim Raines Ivan Rodriguez Name 2017 votes (percent) Years on ballot Jeff Bagwell 381 (86.2) 7 Tim Raines 380 (86.0) 10 Ivan Rodriguez 336 (76.0) 1 Trevor Hoffman 327 (74.0) 2 Vladimir Guerrero 317 (71.7) 1 Edgar Martinez 259 (58.6) 8 Roger Clemens 239 (54.1) 5 Barry Bonds 238 (53.8) 5 Mike Mussina 229 (51.8) 4 Curt Schilling 199 (45.0) 5 Lee Smith 151 (34.2) 15 Manny Ramirez 105 (23.8) 1 Larry Walker 97 (21.9) 7 Fred McGriff 96 (21.7) 9 Jeff Kent 74 (16.7) 4 Gary Sheffield 59 (13.3) 3 Billy Wagner 45 (10.2) 2 Sammy Sosa 38 (8.6) 5 Jorge Posada 17 (3.8) 1 Magglio Ordoñez 3 (0.7) 1 Edgar Renteria 2 (0.5) 1 Jason Varitek 2 (0.5) 1 Tim Wakefield 1 (0.2) 1 Casey Blake 0 1 Pat Burrell 0 1 Orlando Cabrera 0 1 Mike Cameron 0 1 J.D. Drew 0 1 Carlos Guillen 0 1 Derrek Lee 0 1 Melvin Mora 0 1 Arthur Rhodes 0 1 Freddy Sanchez 0 1 Matt Stairs 0 1
Orioles re-signed Mark Trumbo(3 yrs, $37.5M) Blue Jays re-signed Jose Bautista(1 yr, $18.5M; 2018 mutual option) Marlins acquired Dan Straily from Cincinnati for Luis Castillo and Austin Brice & Isaiah White Phillies signed Michael Saunders(1 yr, $9M) Rangers signed Tyson Ross(1 yr, $6M) Tigers DFA Anthony Gose Angels sign Kole Calhoun to extension(3 yrs, $26M) Padres sign Wil Myers to extension(6 yrs, $83M) A's signed Trevor Plouffe(1 yr, $5.2M) Mariners acquired Drew Smyly from Tampa for Mallex Smith, Carlos Vargas & Ryan Yarbrough
That's just crazy and sad. Nobody is invincible. Don't drink and drive. (I only post that because rumors are that both were. Will remove if inappropriate)
Report: Marlins have ‘handshake agreement’ to sell team for $1.6B The Miami Marlins have a “handshake agreement” to sell the team for $1.6 billion, according to Forbes. The publication, citing two unnamed sources, said Marlins president David Samson has said the team has an agreement to sell the franchise. When reached by the Herald, Samson said he had “no comment at all.” According to Forbes, the $1.6 billion handshake agreement is with a real estate developer based in New York. But the article went on to say that “the potential buyer is not liquid, meaning he does not have the cash to buy the Marlins because his net worth is tied up in real estate. Thus, for the real estate developer to purchase the Marlins would likely require more debt than MLB would be comfortable with.”
MLB will reportedly test new extra innings rules in rookie ball Major League Baseball plans to test a new rule this season in rookie ball -- the Gulf Coast League and Arizona League -- which would place a runner at second base at the start of extra innings, according to Yahoo! Sports. “Let’s see what it looks like,” Joe Torre, MLB’s Chief Baseball Officer, told Yahoo! Sports. “It’s not fun to watch when you go through your whole pitching staff and wind up bringing a utility infielder in to pitch. As much as it’s nice to talk about being at an 18-inning game, it takes time.” While the specifics have yet to be determined, ideally a runner would be placed on second base starting in the 10th inning and each inning that follows in an attempt to reach a conclusion quicker and add more action to the game. It would also aim to help rest players, particularly pitchers, as teams typically burn through their bullpens in extra innings. A similar rule already exists for the World Baseball Classic, which places runners on first and second starting in the 11th inning. “What really initiated it is sitting in the dugout in the 15th inning and realizing everybody is going to the plate trying to hit a home run and everyone is trying to end the game themselves,” Torre said. “I don’t know what inning is the right inning. Maybe the 11th or 12th inning. But there are a number of reasons.”
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...nals-pitcher-alex-reyes-partial-tear-ligament Top pitching prospect in baseball is headed for TJS. Tough loss for the Cards, though they always seem to overcome these things.